and because it is higher pressure nearby, it should stay mostly dry. live from london. this is bbc news. ukraine's president zelensky meets with pope francis in the vatican as part of his visit to italy. campaigning in turkey's presidential election is drawing to a close — with both sides desperate for support. and — i'm maryam moshiri — live in liverpool — where the final countdown to eurovision has begun. hello, i'm lukwesa burak. we start in rome, where ukrainian president volodymyr zelensky is on a one day visit. he's been meeting... italy's prime minister, giorgia meloni — who said italy

would remain a solid ally, and provide kyiv with all the assistance it needed. prime minister meloni also stressed that the conflict would only end when russia stopped its aggression, and withdrew from all ukrainian territory, adding that any other outcome would jeopardise peace in all of europe. president zelensky then had a private audience with pope francis it's the first meeting between the two men since russia invaded ukraine. president zelensky says he thanked the pope for focusing �*on tragedy of millions of ukrainians�*. let's cross to the newsroom now and talk to our europe regional editor paul moss. we are all expecting some sort of

intervention. how likely is that? i think we have an idea now because the vatican has issued a statement. an intervention, i wouldn't call it anything so strong. pope francis has talked a lot in the past about the suffering of the ukrainian people. he has also condemned certain specific war crimes committed in ukraine. however, critics suggest that the pope has not been strong enoughin that the pope has not been strong enough in making very clear that russia is in the wrong and ukraine has been invaded. they seem to come down on one side or the other. the pope has never criticised vladimir putin and once described him as a cultured fellow. when he was asked to visit ukraine, he made it clear he would visit ukraine if he could visit russia as well. some people suggest that some sort of novel equivalent. when zelensky went to visit him today, one presumes he went to hope for the pope to go more clearly on his side. i think that he

would be very disappointed if that was the case. the vatican has issued a statement, this statement does not mention russia once. it speaks a very elliptic language and says, they discussed issues relating to humanitarian and political situation in ukraine caused by the ongoing war to stop together they agreed on the need to continue humanitarian efforts to support the population. no mention of why that population is suffering, in other words, no mention of why that population is suffering, in otherwords, because russia invaded. the pope said he would offer his prayers to zelensky. i think mr zelensky might have been hoping for more than prayers or condemnation of russia. i should say that president zelensky has expressed his gratitude and said on telegram that he is very grateful to the pope for his personal attention to the tragedy of millions of ukrainians. something else missing

from the vatican statement, the paper said before that he has a secret mission under way to bring peace to ukraine but no details of that. what does it mean? perhaps we were hoping for an idea of what the pope meant, if so, more disappointment. no mention of a secret mission today. find disappointment. no mention of a secret mission today.— disappointment. no mention of a secret mission today. and what about mr zelensky's — secret mission today. and what about mr zelensky's mission? _ secret mission today. and what about mr zelensky's mission? did _ secret mission today. and what about mr zelensky's mission? did he - secret mission today. and what about mr zelensky's mission? did he get. mr zelensky's mission? did he get what he hoped for? $5 mr zelensky's mission? did he get what he hoped for?— mr zelensky's mission? did he get what he hoped for? as you suggested earlier, what he hoped for? as you suggested earlier. there — what he hoped for? as you suggested earlier, there is _ what he hoped for? as you suggested earlier, there is very _ what he hoped for? as you suggested earlier, there is very forceful - earlier, there is very forceful condemnation of russia from giorgia meloni, she made it clear there would be no compromise, russia had to leave all of ukraine's territory. that is the kind of strong language mr zelensky might have wanted to hear from the pipe. mr zelensky might have wanted to hearfrom the pipe. he also had a meeting with the president of italy who said it was in —— honour. not so

other politicians who were in the ruling coalition in italy. that ruling coalition in italy. that ruling coalition in italy. that ruling coalition known as the league, there leader matteo salvini has been pictured in red square with a picture of vladimir putin on a t—shirt. also berlusconi. last october, silvio ballas gurney seemed to talk about how putin sent him 20 bottles of vodka for his birthday. he said they had a very sweet exchange of letters. that is the kind of peak people zelensky needs to wind over. it's not clear weather he achieved that today. heat to wind over. it's not clear weather he achieved that today.— he achieved that today. next up on his tri- he achieved that today. next up on his tri is he achieved that today. next up on his trip is germany. _ he achieved that today. next up on his trip is germany. i'm _ he achieved that today. next up on his trip is germany. i'm wondering | his trip is germany. i'm wondering what that mission will be because we have already had news of a 2.2

million —— $3 billion package. yes. million -- $3 billion package. yes, it's the biggest _ million -- $3 billion package. yes it's the biggest package given to ukraine since the conflict started. they said because of their history and what happened in the second world war, fighting russia. now it seems to be full on in support and here are some details of the package. it includes 30 leopard tanks, 15 anti—aircraft tanks, more than 200 reconnaissance drones and four anti—aircraft systems. that makes it very clear that germany is on ukraine's side and i'm sure zelensky will be offering thanks for that military aid package and also for germany hosting more than i million ukrainian refugees. but once again, ithink million ukrainian refugees. but once again, i think mr zelensky has to make sure he shores up that support and doesn't rely on it. the surveys suggest that people in germany are flagging in their support for ukraine, few of them want to give

financial support to ukraine and fewer want to have ukrainian refugees in germany. so mr zelensky has to make sure he keeps the country on his side. sy extra thing that has been speculated is that mr zelensky may fly to the city of aachen. no confirmation of that so far. . ~' , ., mr zelensky's visit to italy comes as russia has carried out a new wave of air strikes on kyiv and other cities. ukranian authorities say the county's military intercepted all drones directed at the capital. but in the southern city of mykolaiv, three people were injured in attacks. and in the western city of khmelnytsky, critical infrastructure as well as residential and government buildings were hit. the latest russian strikes come as ukrainian forces say they have made progress near the eastern city of bakhmut. our correspondent hugo bachega is in kyiv. russia carried out another

wave of air strikes on ukrainian cities overnight. and the ukrainian military says that 21 drones were fired by russia. iranian—made drones that russia has been using to attack ukrainian towns and cities. and the country's air defence systems intercepted 17 of those drones. one of the target was the reason of khmelnytskyy were civilian infrastructure was hit. this is a transport hub in the west of ukraine. the authorities say at least 11 people were injured in that part of the country. the city of mykolaiv was also hit and at least three people were injured. these latest attacks happen as ukraine says it has made gains around the city of bakhmut, a key target for russian forces in the east of the country. yesterday, the russian defence ministry seemed to acknowledge that ukrainian forces have made some

gains around bakhmut. and it also said that russian forces had abandoned some positions. there was some criticism from the head of the wagner group, yevgeny prigozhin, whose group has been leading the russian efforts to seize bakhmut. he said that what had happened near bakhmut was actually a rout. hugo bachega with the latest there from kyiv. because of the russian invasion, ukraine has been unable to host the eurovision song contest — despite winning the competition last year. the uk is holding the contest on ukraine's behalf. let's go live to liverpool now and my colleague maryam moshiri who is watching all the action for us. i suppose there is only one thing i can say, boom boom boom. fir i suppose there is only one thing i can say, boom boom boom. or cha cha-cha cha- _ can say, boom boom boom. or cha cha-cha cha. let's _ can say, boom boom boom. or cha cha-cha cha. let's look— can say, boom boom boom. or cha cha-cha cha. let's look at - can say, boom boom boom. or cha cha-cha cha. let's look at this - cha—cha cha. let's look at this

shot. it is of the cloud. i can't even describe the atmosphere out there. it is amazing. there are 15,000 people in the fan zone and all watching the boys pumping the cloud up. it is really buzzing and everyone has come dressed in bright colours and sparkly outfits, it is so eurovision out there. they are really pumping the cloud up ahead of what is going to be an amazing eurovision final. those screens you can see there will be showing the final live to the clouds. this will be at eight o'clock british summer time. that event will go on for three, three and a half hours with a live vote from the public and results later this evening. it has been months and months of build—up. the city of liverpool has prepared to host the final of the eurovision song contest with more than 160 million people across the world expected to watch. among the

favourites to wind is this, sweden. she first one the competition in 2012. she is back hoping to claim victory for a second time. and finland's end to is also considered a strong contenderfor finland's end to is also considered a strong contender for first place. this is ukraine, the raining champions. they are defending their title with the electronic combo with heart of steel. our arts correspondent is also here at eurovision and he has been soaking up eurovision and he has been soaking up the atmosphere.

are you enjoying yourselves? all: yes! welcome to liverpool. brilliant. amazing. absolutely amazing. there is what you might call a bit of a buzz. planet eurovision has landed. did you have to be convinced to wear this? no, no, no. i love it. the first time when i see that, i went, give me that. because, when i put it on, i feel so superhero. clapping and cheering and after all that build—up, the question is, is liverpool embracing the revision spirit? and i think that gives you your answer. it's so fabulous to bring so many people together in such a probably traumatic world at the moment, with what is going on. and, you know, everyone is so positive, everyone is so lovely.

it is what you want. the city is bouncing. just look at the queues for the eurovision village. the live venue for those who couldn't get tickets for the main arena. just compare it with when harrogate staged a show in 1982. back then, eurovision felt like a golf club dinner dance. these days, it is like a citywide carnival. a sequin—strewn olympics of music. and the blue and yellow of ukraine is everywhere. and there will be a lot of attention on how the country is represented in tonight's show. eurovision�*s no—politics rule means there will be no video address from volodymyr zelensky, but rehearsals have been watched closely to see how far a contest staged in the uk can reflect ukraine.

what do you make of the response of liverpool? great. especially the people. it's amazing people. it's very touching to speak with them. they are not only very friendly, but very much supportive. do you think ukraine is being reflected here properly? quite well. but it depends whether we win or not. and there is a good chance of two wins in a row for ukraine. but the favourite is loreen from sweden. # how cruel you were to me # the uk's hopes lie with mae muller, and i wrote a song, which will be the final song of the night, in a show which will be, for the first time, open to votes from viewers beyond the 37 eurovision countries. # da, da, da, da # instead i wrote a song.# joining me now is our eurovision

reporter daniel rosney the level of production going into some of these is crazy. it's very exciting and no one is more excited than our reporter. he is in the arena now. the hottest spot in the world tonight. find arena now. the hottest spot in the world tonight-— world tonight. and that's not 'ust the temperature. i world tonight. and that's not 'ust the temperature. you * world tonight. and that's not 'ust the temperature. you can i world tonight. and that's notjust the temperature. you can really. world tonight. and that's notjust i the temperature. you can really feel when the arena is full with 6000 fans. the temperature in here. the arena has opened and the fans are not yet inside but less than two hours to go into the grand final of this year's contest. the first time in a quarter of a century that it is happening in the united kingdom. i was in here last night for the full run through. i have seen it all and know what happens apart from who winds. as we have heard in david's package, the favourite is currently

sweden. there are 26 competitors this evening. we have two semifinals on tuesday and thursday. we have seen this week in liverpool that eurovision has evolved from a 1998, the last time it was in the uk, it is now a week—long event, you can see all of the fans enjoying it. it has become a huge cultural festival, notjust has become a huge cultural festival, not just a tv show that happens once a year for four hours. not just a tv show that happens once a yearforfour hours. i have not just a tv show that happens once a year for four hours. i have the best view of the arena i think because i will be able to see the 26 countries just below me when they get all of those points. i can see who is drowning their sorrows, who is celebrating, who is partying. and i will be able to see who is looking nervously as all of the competitors will be performing on this fantastic stage. it has taken seven weeks to build. it has taken over the arena. it is one of the most complicated tv

productions in the world. this evening will be a big moment because it feels like a special contest this year, hosting it on behalf of last year's winds ukraine. the ukrainian presenter who is hosting this evening, she got it right on tuesday when she said that this isn't the uk hosting it on behalf of ukraine, this is the uk and ukraine are hosting it together. the opening sequence of tonight's show will show ukraine strongly represented on stage. myjob title is eurovision reporterfor bbc news stage. myjob title is eurovision reporter for bbc news and it is a greatjob to have. i've covered eurovision fair several years for the bbc and ukraine is really good at eurovision. we will see some past contestants from ukraine this evening. one of the interview mac interval acts from the past 4 or 5 contexts will be on stage performing a medley of liverpudlian hits. its

may could imagine byjohn lennon and the iconic song, you will never walk alone. i've enjoyed seeing t—shirts with that title on. i alone. i've enjoyed seeing t-shirts with that title on.— with that title on. i haven't got a lot of time. _ with that title on. i haven't got a lot of time, but _ with that title on. i haven't got a lot of time, but very _ with that title on. i haven't got a lot of time, but very briefly, - with that title on. i haven't got a lot of time, but very briefly, you j lot of time, but very briefly, you scrub up very well. i lot of time, but very briefly, you scrub up very well.— lot of time, but very briefly, you scrub up very well. i thought based on some of— scrub up very well. i thought based on some of the _ scrub up very well. i thought based on some of the costumes - scrub up very well. i thought based on some of the costumes we - scrub up very well. i thought based on some of the costumes we havel scrub up very well. i thought based - on some of the costumes we have seen this week, i might be underdressed tonight. i this week, i might be underdressed toniaht. ., �* ~' this week, i might be underdressed toniaht. ., �* ~ ., this week, i might be underdressed toniaht. ., �* ~' . �* , tonight. i don't think you are. best see in town _ tonight. i don't think you are. best see in town there. _ tonight. i don't think you are. best see in town there. but _ tonight. i don't think you are. best see in town there. but i _ tonight. i don't think you are. best see in town there. but i have - tonight. i don't think you are. best see in town there. but i have a - see in town there. but i have a second—best see. back to the studio. there's been heavy fighting between rival military factions the presidential candidates in turkey are completing a final

day of campaigning — before sunday's crucial election. president recep tayyip erdogan held a rally in istanbul, where he built his popular support as mayor more than 20 years ago. and his secular challenger, kemal kilicdaroglu, has also been campaigning — he's been pledging to restore democracy and improve relations with the west. earlier i asked our international correspondent orla guerin, who is now in ankara, about what's at stake in this election. turkey is facing a binary choice in effect after 20 years of rule by president erdogan. there is now an alternative on offer, the opposition kemal kilicdaroglu who is the leader of the main opposition party in this election. he is standing on a coalition of six opposition parties. that is a very broad church, every kind of party, islamists, nationalists, even former allies of president

erdogan are in this coalition. they have come together with one aim, really, which is to unseat him. we saw today that president erdogan was complaining up to the last minute with that rally in istanbul which imagined. in istanbul which you mentioned. he has been sitting hard against his opponent, once again today claiming without any proof that kemal kilicdaroglu and his party are linked to the banned pkk, the kurdistan workers' party which is classed here and in the us and europe as a terrorist group. that is an accusation he makes pretty regularly during the campaign. mr kilicdaroglu is very different in style and tone and has emphasised his desire to bring people together. he appeals to young turks, there are five millions here voting tomorrow for the first time. lets get you an update from pakistan now — because dramatic events there yesterday, after the country's

former prime minister, imran khan left court premises in islamabad, a day after the supreme court ruled his arrest on corruption charges was illegal. mr khan's arrest on tuesday sparked days of violent protests, in which a number of people have died. well, imran khan hasjust released a video statement. lets go to bbc urdu's saher baloch in islamabad — saher what has he been saying? (pres) bbc urdu's saher baloch has been analyzing imran khan's speech. he spoke about how he is still in disbelief over how his supporters are being accused of perpetrating violence and damaging public property. this is something new from him because he spoke about it in a roundabout way as you may be aware on the 9th of may after his a risk. his supporters allegedly went out and public property and went into

military houses in lahore. now he was addressing his supporters in saying that he is still in disbelief over the fact that his supporters chose violence. he didn't apologise or condemn it but he said his supporters cannot do this. some of his address was still a repetition of what he has been saying so far but in this case, it is a huge thing that he still spoke about the fact that he still spoke about the fact that military is misunderstanding his intentions. he is now back in his intentions. he is now back in his lahore residents and since then there is a lot of quiet. last night i came from lahore to islamabad and i came from lahore to islamabad and i saw how most of the containers used to block the roads were removed from the area especially after media supporters were dispersed by the police. there is already a section imposing is islamabad which means that there is a ban on public gatherings. so the former prime minister could not address his

supporters at the moment. there was a loss of cloudy and it's still thought he is going to ask his supporters to come out tomorrow apparently. it will be seen how they go about it but so far, it is far more peaceful than it was two days ago. there has been heavy fighting between there's been between heavy fighting between rival military factions in the sudanese capital khartoum as well as neighbouring omdurman. the military has been bombing the rsf militia positions from the air and there've been fierce clashes in densely populated areas. over half a million people have fled khartoum since the war began exactly a month ago. there's been widespread looting leading to severe shortages of food and medicine. i'm joined now by bbc reporter kalkidan yibeltal, who is speaking to us from addis ababa, ethiopia. there were talks and an agreement for things to calm down to allow

people to leave and protect humanitarian workers. the fighting continues. it looks like we have lost him. that is a shame. if we get him back, we will bring you the latest details from sudan. cyclone mocha is expected to make landfall in bangladesh on sunday. storm surges of up to 12 feet. there are concerns the cyclone could affect the worlds largest refugee calm. from cox's bazar, our south asia correspondent rajini vaidya nathan reports. well, this school has now become a cyclone shelter. and throughout the afternoon, we've seen families arrive with young children,

carrying bags full of whatever they want to get them through the next few days of this terrible weather, even some people turning up with their livestock as well, with chickens and with cattle. now, the government has been telling people that they should come to one of these shelters to seek sanctuary. although away from here, we've seen a lot of people who are carrying on with their normal lives, unaware of what might actually happen. now, as you can see here, this is one of the classrooms. lots of families here. the government in bangladesh is hoping that around half a million people will eventually be moved to the shelters to stay safe during cyclone mocha, which some forecasters say could be the worst such storm to hit this area in more than a decade. one thing important to note is that while people here do have a safe

place to see this storm out, there are close to a million rohingya refugees not too far from where we are who are living in the world's largest refugee camp in very flimsy, makeshift shelters made of bamboo and tarpaulin. and the bangladesh government doesn't allow them to leave those refugee camps. and there are real concerns in the camps about how stay with us here on bbc news. hello there. although parts of east and south—east england remain grey and quite cool all day, much of the country had a very fine and sunny start to the weekend. part two of the weekend looks quite mixed. there will be some sunshine around, particularly in wales and england. but scotland and northern ireland will start to see this weather front moving in off the atlantic, bringing outbreaks of cloud and rain, and a drop in temperature. but high pressure will bring us a fine evening and night. largely clear skies for many, but that low grey cloud

across the east will start to roll back westwards again for much of eastern england and the midlands. western scotland and northern ireland will be turning wetter and breezier, as that weather front pushes in. so, quite a mixture of temperatures. obviously, quite cool under clear skies. but generally, for most, 6 to 8 degrees. sunday then, we start off with some sunshine around. that grey weather across the east of england should tend to improve. the clouds burning back to the coast. one or two showers into the afternoon through the midlands. this weather front will start to move out of scotland and northern ireland. it brightens up later in the day with a few showers, but will feel much cooler for scotland and northern ireland. low to mid—teens. sunny spells across parts of england and wales. again, we could be up to 21 degrees. sunday night, that weather front weakens, it continues to push eastward, bringing cloud, some patchy rain, clearer skies, one or two blustery showers across the north and west of scotland but under those clear skies, with this cool air it is going to be a chilly night to come here. but for south—eastern areas where we have the weather front, the cloud and rain generally seven

to 10 degrees. that weather front clears away eventually and we see some further showers around the edge of this area of high pressure which will bring us north, north—westerly winds. showers for northern scotland, northern and eastern england, some of these running down to east anglia and the south—east into the afternoon. but the best of the sunshine towards the south and west. we could be up to 15 degrees here but you will see it is a much cooler day across the board. ranging between ten and 13 celsius. that is below par for this time in may. the cooler air hangs around through tuesday and again into wednesday, particularly towards northern and eastern areas but very slowly we'll start to see those yellow—orange colours returning. so altough it will start quite chilly through the week with some showers around but temperatures will recover towards the end of the week and because it is higher pressure nearby, it should stay mostly dry.

now, for the headlines. presenter lenski has had a private audience with the pope. he assures he has given constant prayer and indication to the lord for peace. —— resident zelensky. mr erdogan�*s party has